


Questions

by a_little_hazy



Series: Dream is a Vessel [2]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Starving, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Isolation, Morally Ambiguous Character, Morally Grey Characters, Past and Present, i just realized this fic is DARK, more of the AU!, oh boy, oh fuck yall, sam tires to figure things out while getting increasingly irritated by dream, uhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:41:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29113224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_little_hazy/pseuds/a_little_hazy
Summary: MASSIVE TW FOR SUICIDE, SELF HARM, AND WHATEVER IS GOING ON WITH DREAM'S TREATMENT IN THE PRISON (cause uh... *checks tags* it ain't good)After finding out about the entities that inhabit Dream's mind, and by extension his body, he begins to wonder who is in control when Dream submerges himself in the lava. The demon is an excellent actor, after all, and every day it gets harder to tell.(Connected to Crowded Minds Make for Tired Kids)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Sam | Awesamdude
Series: Dream is a Vessel [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136243
Comments: 29
Kudos: 319





	Questions

**Author's Note:**

> c!Dream is a bitch and did horrible things but....... the way he's being treated rn makes me super fucking sad
> 
> once again PLEASE check my warnings in the summary and tags! very important in this fic.  
> don't say that Dream has any sort of real disorder (DID, schizophrenia, etc). It paints harmful stereotypes. If you relate to had and have any of these disorders that's totally fine and valid, but people saying that a possessed fictional villain has a real-life disorder rubs me the wrong way  
> ty!

It's very hard for Sam to create a divide between what Dae had referred to as "the demon" and Dream. For so long, they have been the  _ same _ person. One body, one voice, and a horrifying and disgusting series of events and actions. It was all one person, and it sickened Sam.

But now, occasionally, he doesn't know  _ who _ is in control when Dream throws himself into lava. He doesn't know whether to feel sympathy or rage. Most notably, whenever Dream begs for company immediately after retelling all of the horrible, manipulative things he did to Tommy. Tubbo. To everyone on the server since the very beginning. The demon is an excellent actor. It's hard to know when  _ Dream _ is here, if ever.

Another nonfinal death message flits through Sam's mind.  _ Dream tried to swim in lava _ . Anger and frustration bubble in his chest. There were the occasional few hours where Dream passes out from exhaustion, which leaves the server quiet. No death messages, no questions needing to be asked.  _ Dream tried to swim in lava _ . Sam had spent so long justifying everything he did to keep the server and its inhabitants safe. The prison, the rigorous guarding. Every hour he had put into this building, making sure no one could escape. He couldn't start reconsidering it all, not now, not after all this work.  _ Dream tried to swim in lava _ .

Somehow, knowing that the  _ thing _ behind all of this pain wasn't human made everything easier. It wasn't like him or Bad, Puffy, Tubbo, or even  _ Technoblade _ .  _ Dream tried to swim in lava.  _ It was something he didn't have to care for as hard. In other ways, it made everything harder. There  _ was _ a person in there, and Sam didn't know how to get him out. Of if he could, even. It filled his mind with questions, thoughts desperate to understand how everything works.  _ Dream tried to swim in lava. _

" _ Stop that _ ," Sam hissed into them the mic, and Dream froze.

"Sam?" He asked, voice oh so small, looking around the cell. God, he didn't fucking know. He didn't  _ want _ to know. He never knew if this was an act or the child he had talked to. Sam's fingers twitched against the microphone, tempted to say something more. The  _ one _ time he fell for something like this, Dream laughed until he couldn't breathe (or longer, Sam left before he could finish).

"Sam?" Dream calls again, a little louder but still tentative.

Sam's eyebrow twitches down. He wasn't buying it. He hadn't learned the ticks yet, of Dream and the demon, but he was too tired to deal with trying to decide who it was right now.

"...you're no fun," Dream says eventually, his voice dropping down an octave. His shoulders slump, and he drops the act. Dream paces around the cell, standing in front of the lava for an uncomfortable moment before retreating to the far side of the room. He slides down the wall, sitting on the floor.  _ Just an act, then _ .

"If you do it again, I'll raise the netherite," Sam threatens, and he can see Dream nod over the surveillance.

Sam raises netherite anyway.

Dream paces. He spins his clock around for hours before throwing it in the lava. He waits. Sam doesn't give him a new one, he's already wasted so many, and he had already given Dream plenty of warnings. Still, Dream waits, pacing, drumming his hands against the netherite, and eventually realizes he's not getting a new clock. He cries much more than anyone should about a  _ clock _ . It's not like he cared about it that much anyway; if he liked it, he wouldn't destroy it all the time and force Sam to come replace it. In the end, after his irrational tears and screaming, Dream curled up against a wall. He stares at his cauldron almost longingly, and Sam only feels irritation. Don't make him remove  _ that _ too.

Dream sits. He sits for a long time, completely still aside from the occasional twitch his fingers give. Then he starts bumping his head against the wall. It's light at first, then gradually becoming more aggressive as the same impassive stare remains on Dream's face. Sam thinks he can start to see a stain of blood against the wall. He's tempted to say something, but he had figured Dream would find a new way to get what he wants sooner or later.

Suddenly, Dream flinches.

" _ I can do what I want _ ," he says to no one and starts banging his head again. The sound is annoying.

Dream flinches again, harder this time, enough for Sam to take genuine notice.

"You sound just like  _ him _ ," Dream says, pulling his legs up to his chest and hiding his face. Huh. Getting scolded, apparently.

The next time Sam came to check on Dream, Dae was there instead. There was a large red stain on the wall that Sam chose to ignore.

"Dae?" he asked. "Is there something wrong? Did you need me to let you out?" Sam  _ highly _ doubted that Dae needed any sort of assistance, but he still felt compelled to ask.

"No," Dae says simply. It relaxes against the wall, the camera feed distorting around it slightly. "The server is fine."

"No?" Sam repeated. "Then why are you here? I thought you said you're only summoned for server problems."

"True," Dea says. "I felt needed, so I arrived."

"For?"

"Preservation."

_ Oh _ . It's here because of whatever Dream was up to while Sam was gone. Great. Causing problems, probably. Sam was quickly making plans to dispense potatoes to Dream automatically. That way, he wouldn't have to go into the cell anymore.

"How long do you think you'll stay?"

"As long as I deem right."

_ Alright _ . Sam was too tired to think about this further. He gathered his papers and got to work.

Occasionally, Dae would ask a question, and Sam would respond as helpfully as he could. Most of the time, it was quiet, though, which Sam appreciated. No death messages, no irritating attempts for attention. It was bliss. Sam got plenty of work done and went home satisfied with his plans to move forward.

The next morning, Dae was gone, and the demon was back. The netherite was still raised, more out of precaution, even though Sam knew it wouldn't keep Dream from trouble for long.  _ Dream drowned _ . Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. At least this message would be more infrequent. Or maybe not; he wasn't sure. Dream still seemed a little torn up about the clock.

Dream was wet every time Sam glanced over the camera system. The day was quiet enough; Dream has apparently gotten quite bored of tucking himself into the cauldron after a few hours. Sam found that he could focus on some small wiring he had been meaning to touch up while keeping guard, which was a small blessing. He's been missing out on time for personal projects like this.

"...I'll answer questions if you come talk to me," Dream says into the air like he's unsure if Sam is even listening. The statement is enough to make Sam pause, glancing up from his work.

"And why would I do that?" Sam asks.

"I'm sure you have questions, things you're trying to figure out," Dream says. "I just want to talk. I'll answer them, point-blank."

Sam mulls over the proposal. He did have questions, a lot of them, and it was driving him insane a little. Sam  _ hated _ Dream, but he wouldn't be losing much in this situation. Maybe a bit of his time, but he could always find more later.

"Sure," Sam finally says and grabs his keycard.

Dream... looks a little bewildered when Sam  _ actually _ shows up in front of him. He shuffles to sit up straight, looking a little giddy. Sam's face twisted in disgust.

"Wh-what do you want to know?" Dream asks.

Why not get the big one out of the way first? "Why the...  _ hell _ would you come here and start conflicts and wars on a perfectly good server?"

"It-it feeds me." The answer was immediate, and despite the admission, Dream is leaning forward like he's happy to be here. "The-the control, being in control, and having the serve together keeps me strong."

"What about Tubbo? Tommy?"

"Kids are easy to manipulate."

Ugh. Sam felt sick. "Alright... Dream told me he was fifteen. Is that true?"

"For him, yes."

"What does  _ that _ mean?"

"He was fifteen when I got control. To him, he hasn't aged."

_ What the fuck _ . Sam's eye twitched.

"How come you've never relinquished control?"

"He doesn't want it."

Sam's brain hurts at the implications of that statement. Dream, the kid, the literal  _ child _ , had spent years with the demon, at least. What kind of things was he told? How long had it been? Actually-- "How old are you? How long have you... had control over Dream's body."

"I don't know," Dream says, fiddling with his poncho.

"What do you  _ mean _ you don't know? I'll just leave if you don't cooperate, Dream."

"I-I genuinely don't know! It's been a long time; I've lost track. I'm telling the truth, I promise. Please don't leave." Dream simultaneously looks like he wants to make himself smaller and get closer to Sam. He settles on rocking a little instead, and some sort of strange satisfaction settles over Sam.

"Fine. Would Dae know?"

"What? No, I-- _ I _ offered to talk. If you talk to--"

"I asked a question. Answer it."

Dream shrunk back. "Maybe?"

"Give Dae control," Sam says, tilting his head to the side slightly. He wanted to test a theory.

"I--I can't just  _ force _ Dae-" Dream stops, pressing a finger to his mouth. He mutters to himself quietly, a slightly guilty look flashing across his face.

"What?"

"Can... can I have a hug?" Dream asks.

Well, that's certainly... not relevant. But Sam could use it. "If you let me talk to Dae, then yes. If not, I'm leaving."

Dream suddenly looked very, very panicked. What a small thing to panic over, a hug. The raw potatoes hung heavily in the pouch on Sam's belt. Dream curled into a ball, gripping his head and muttering. Sam could hear, he was begging Dae to show up, telling it that it was an  _ emergency _ and he needed  _ help _ and then--

Sam's head hurt.

Dae towered over him, and it felt... angry.

"What is the matter?" Dae asks.

"I was asking questions; I wondered if you would know the answers."

The silence was long and heavy, and Sam suddenly wondered if he had made a mistake.

"I was forced into the world for... questions?"

Sam shuffled uncomfortably. "I thought you were always here?"

"Dormant," Dae says. "Being here puts a strain on everything. The body, the mind, the server. I only emerge when  _ necessary _ ; why am I here?"

"I need to know about Dream. I need to know about him and the demon."

Dae regarded Sam for a moment, shifting its weight and standing taller. "And why would you need  _ me _ for that?"

"The demon tells me that he can't remember or that he doesn't know certain things--"

"And why would  _ I _ ?"

When Sam struggles to come up with a genuine answer, outside of Dae being the closest thing the server has to a god, Dae hums dismissively.

"I would like a new clock," it says. "It keeps things quiet. Do  _ not _ do this again. The demon may be at your mercy in this place, but  _ I _ am far above it."

And then Dae is gone, and Dream is left gasping for breath on the floor. Sam gets a mere  _ glimpse _ of the real Dream before the demon takes over, stumbling up and clinging to Sam in a one-sided hug. Sam is nearly knocked back, and Dream only grips onto him tighter. He buries his face into Sam's armor, which can't at  _ all _ be comfortable, and he clings to Sam like they're friends. Like he hadn't done all of those horrendous things to the server and could still be seen as a person.

"Dream, that's enough," Sam warns. Dream only holds tighter. "If you don't let go, I'll take away your potato rations."

Dream doesn't listen, and Sam is forced to drive his sword through Drem's stomach to get him to let go. He's gone before Dream finishes respawning, and he doesn't check the cell footage for the rest of the day.

Asking Dae was off the table, so Sam figures he'll have to wait and see if Dream offers up information again, or Dae arrives naturally. Sam sighs, pulling out his communicator and messaging Tommy that he'll be over soon to work on the hotel. He's got a few kids to take care of, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> cries and sobs  
> yall i'm-
> 
> WOOOOO *bangs table* MORALLY GREY SAM LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOO


End file.
